even attempting to hide his apathetic look, Christian folded his arms on the table.
Betty hustled back with our drinks. “A milkshake for the lady and an orange Crush for the handsome father.” She gave him a wink before making herself scarce.
Crush peered over his shoulder at her. “Older women have always had a thing for me.”
“She’s not that much older,” Christian quipped.
Crush gave him an indignant look as he pulled the straw out of his glass. “I’m fifty-eight.”
My father had lived a hard life, and he looked all of his fifty-eight years and then some. I had forgotten his exact age until that moment. I thought about how many of those years he’d wasted alone. But he was so hard-core devoted to my deceased mother that he’d never settle for anyone else.
Before they really got into it, I decided to bring up something else that had been on my mind. “This wasn’t just an ambush. I also wanted to invite you here to thank you for everything you did.”
Crush furrowed his brow. “I don’t follow.”
“The whole mess with guarding the mansion and Hunter.”
Crush laced his fingers together. “That’s what good fathers do.”
“Switch shouldn’t have called you. And you definitely shouldn’t have been on the front lines storming into that Mage’s apartment. You could have gotten yourself killed.”
He grinned like a foolhardy boy. “Took me back to my days in the service. Made me feel young again.”
I sipped my vanilla shake and grimaced when my throat froze. “You’re supposed to be retired from all that.”
“A good Marine never retires. You’ll figure that out one day, little girl.” After another drink, he leaned in tight. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a wolf hanging out on my property, now would you?”
I thought back to the deal I’d made with his friend, Wizard. It hadn’t felt right leaving Crush completely alone, so Wizard volunteered to place a wolf on his property to keep an eye on him. After the loan shark fiasco ended, I’d just assumed Wizard had pulled back his men. Apparently not.
I drank more of my shake.
“I don’t need a damn watchdog.”
I shoved my glass toward Christian. “What if something happens and you can’t get to a phone? You live by yourself and don’t have neighbors within earshot. I can’t call you every day, especially if I’m on a mission. What if you slip in the tub?”
“I’m not dying in the damn bathtub.”
Christian extracted the straw from my glass. “Imagine the mortifying shame of it. Ass up, lying in a puddle of your own filth. The fire department would have to use the Jaws of Life to get you out of there.”
Just as he put the end of the straw into his mouth to lick off the thick milkshake, I kicked him under the table.
Crush played with an ice cube in his glass. “You know what we did to peckerheads like you in the Marines?”
“Fecking hell. I’m starting to regret all those premium steaks I bought you that time when I set you up in that fancy trailer to keep your arse safe.”
Crush’s shoulders sagged and he sat back. “I’m not denying you’ve done a lot for me and mine, but you have a mouth on you. What happened to respecting your elders?”
“Now you’re starting to talk some sense.” Christian put his arm around me. “Did I ever tell you that I was born in the nineteenth century?”
I chuckled. “He’s got you there.”
“Dammit, Cookie. You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I’m on both your sides,” I assured him. “Maybe I should buy a shelf from Ikea and have you two assemble it.”
“For what reason?” Christian asked.
“You boys need a special project to work on together. Maybe that’ll help you figure out a way to communicate.”
Crush cackled. “Maybe you’re our project.”
Betty returned with our plates balanced on her arms like some kind of magic act. She set down the big one first, and Crush’s eyes rounded at the double-patty Angus burger with cheese oozing from the sides. When he reached for the saltshaker, I snatched it away.
Then she set down a white plate in front of Christian. A bowl of steaming chili was in the center, surrounded by saltine crackers.
“Do you think you’ll have room for pie?” Betty sounded more chipper than usual, but she also seemed enamored by my father.
My mouth watered when I looked down at my burger and onion rings. “Not today. Thanks, Betty. You’re a lifesaver.”
“That’s what they’ll put on my tombstone,” she said while striding away.